On top of its blistering amount of exciting guns, quirky characters, and detailed vistas, Borderlands 2 is filled to the brim with mind-boggling quests to conquer, and the further you quest on for the best loot in the game, the more bizarre creatures you are bound to encounter. In the “Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary” DLC, one of the many challenges players must face is the hulking Haderax the Invincible: the tunneling worm beast.
Haderax is a lot to take in when first faced; gamers will be way too busy with its nasty attack patterns to realize just how bizarre it really is.
10 Somebody Please Explain His Weak Points
During this fight, players aren’t totally left in the dark. Haderax has a weak point in its mouth (which is quite understandable), but also a very obvious glowing weak point on the back of its head. Maybe someone on the wide world of Pandora could have figured out how to slay this beast with a hint that huge, but it looks like it’s all up to the player as usual.
9 Its Name Is Straight From The Books
The name “Haderax” is a reference to the classic novel Dune, originating from the character Kwisatz Haderach.
Its design also takes plenty of influence from the sand worm creatures in the novel. It’s certainly an unexpected reference to be found at the end of a Borderlands mission.
8 Be Careful… There’s Acid
One of Haderax’s main defenses is its ability to shoot acid out of its mouth, which will do immense damage if unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire. It’s a total mystery why it has this ability, but it does seem to explain why it has a weak point in its mouth.
7 Tunnels Within Tunnels
Haderax attacks by choosing to burrow in three distinct tunnels, and pops out to surprise its enemy.
Considering the vault hunters have already wound up in the Writhing Deep to confront it, shouldn’t it choose to hang out in the big battle room that it created for them?
6 You’ve Got To Pay If You Want To Play
In order to challenge Haderax, players will need to pay a few thousand Eridium at the entrance of the arena to enter. That’s a pretty unexpected price to pay for the privilege to fight a giant worm; hopefully if Haderax makes it out alive, it can buy itself something nice.
5 How Did It Wind Up This Way?
Rumor has it that the reason Haderax is in the state its in is due to human error. Colonel Hector was releasing an experimental fauna gas in the area, and apparently that is what caused Haderax to expand in size and receive its special abilities. If that is truly what happened and the side effects are that severe, you have to wonder how peacefully this mutant sand worm could’ve lived out the rest of its days.
4 A Worthy Introduction
A notable stylistic choice of the Borderlands series is to provide a bombastic splash page for each boss character, displaying their name and often a quote to give you a sense of what you’re up against. Know that you’re in for an epic challenge when you see this graphic explode on screen. Haderax the Invincible is somehow the only raid boss in the series that has earned a splash graphic of its own. For a beast with no face and no discernible personality traits, that’s a surprising but impressive accomplishment.
3 Stay On The Offensive
One of the most identifying (and absolutely frustrating) aspects of Haderax is its massive healing capabilities. Unless attacked at a steady pace and constantly adapting to its movement patterns, Haderax will heal itself and undo all of the player’s hard work. It can nearly heal entirely if not careful. As if Haderax didn’t already have a bunch of ridiculously diverse abilities, this one takes the cake as the most unexpected.
2 Being Led To Your Doom
The quest to take down Haderax is given by Sir Hammerlock: a robotic, well-mannered and eccentric man who has given many other quests to you on your journey. As nice of a man as he may be, players may need to rethink their priorities if they befriend a man that actively sends his Vault Hunting friends toward terrifying beasts; especially beasts that are known as “The Invincible.” Maybe if he came along every once in a while, it would be a more sensible trip into danger.
1 How Invincible Are You Really?
Haderax The Invincible is at total odds with itself. As fearsome and harrowing as the challenge is, the most blatantly non-sensical aspect of this immense beast is the simple fact that at the end of the day… it can’t live up to its namesake. Sooner or later, the group of Vault Hunters will defeat the gigantic sand worm, pick up the incredibly rare loot, and be on their merry way. Players will be more powerful than ever, and as for Haderax the Invincible? From now on, it’ll be known as simply… Haderax. Maybe it should’ve went with “Haderax The Pretty Difficult,” or “Haderax The Eventually Defeatable.” Either way, Haderax is destined to be a disappointment.
NEXT: 10 Hidden Plotlines Everyone Missed in Borderlands 3
